This Game Tests Your Ability to Detect Fake News
It is more important than ever to be able to recognize when you read #FakeNews. However, determining whether something is fake or real is not always easy. Do you think you know your stuff? Try Factitious .
The web game displays the latest news posted on the web along with background information. Your job is to determine if what you are reading is real or fake – and this is not as easy as it sounds.
Most of the stories that I was shown during the game, I have already seen on Facebook. I like to think that I am pretty good at whether a story is fake or not, but I still didn’t get it.
The game was created by a team at American University to show people how to recognize fake news. The game is a lot like Tinder. You are shown one story at a time and you must choose yes or no after reading it. Once you have made your choice, you will learn the answer and some tips on how you could have made the right choice (assuming you didn’t).
It’s a fun way to spend a few minutes, and you (or the :: cough :: family member you are sending it to) can learn a thing or two along the way.
A few tips from the Factitious team: Always check the source of the article and think about its purpose and look for contact information on the site. If there is no contact information on the site, this should be a red flag. You can also use sites like Snopes , factcheck.org, and the Washington Post Fact Checker to see if a particular story has been confirmed.
Check out their full list of tips here .